Get Festive with Irish Soda Bread!

Hooray for St. Patrick's Day! Irish Soda Bread is one of the plainest breads you might ever try but I love it and a March 17th never goes by without me baking up a loaf or two. Get festive and try it with me!

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I’m sure there are a million ways to make Irish Soda Bread. I have stuck with this recipe because it produces a moist bread every time (soda bread by nature is pretty dry). I take a few shortcuts by using my food processor but eventually you have to get your hands dirty in the end. To get started, put your dry ingredients in the food processor (3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup cake flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda, cream of tartar and salt) and blend them.

Soften 4 Tablespoons of butter.

Add the butter in small pieces to the mixed dry ingredients in the food processor.

Blend the butter with the dry ingredients until it’s incorporated.

Measure 1.25 cups of buttermilk into a large measuring cup. Add an egg and stir to combine.

Place the egg and buttermilk mixture in the food processor with the butter and dry ingredients.

Mix until combined and a wet dough results.

Measure 1+ cups of raisins (I like a lot in my bread!).

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and add the raisins. Start kneading, adding flour as you go (1/4 cup at a time), until the raisins have been incorporated and the dough is slightly lumpy and still sticky

Don’t overwork the dough or the bread will turn out tough!

Place the dough in a round cake pan that has been lightly buttered. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes. If it’s getting brown too quickly, cover it with tin foil to prevent it from burning while baking.

Insert a skewer in the center to be sure it’s done then let it rest for about an hour before slicing. Enjoy!